The 16 and Under World Cup (or AA) was played for the first time in 1989 in Japan and was meant to be a yearly event. Actually, it was played every year for the first 3 editions. The World Cup number 4 was played in 1993 and after that the tournament was played every year until 1998.

Starting from the 2001 AA World Cup in Mexico, the tournament became bi-annual. The 2007 tournament was not sanctioned by the IBAF and this edition does not appear on the World Federation archives.

The tournament has seen a lot of success for Brazil, a country that has never collected wins on the world stage at other levels of baseball.

The tournament has been mainly played in the Americas and in Asia, with the exception of the 1991 World Cup, hosted by Australia.

The last edition of the 16 and Under World Cup was played in 2011 in Mexico and was won by Team USA.

In the 2012 season the tournament will evolve in a 15 and Under World Cup. The first edition of the new age range will be played by 16 teams in Chihuaua, Mexico, in August.